ESPN the Magazine has elevated Robert Griffin III to unseemly heights the past two years. Last April, the headline on a story about the Redskins' quarterback read: "Yes, he can ... be the most transformative athlete, role model and voice of a generation."

My, how love fades.

The publication's next issue has a story written by Howard Bryant, formally of the Washington Post, that undresses the second-year QB like no one has before.

"Griffin's return plan should be familiar by now: When injury steals the performance, hype the comeback. Instead of public humility and private sweat, Griffin and his sponsors turned the uncertainty of recovery into an ad campaign, a summer reality show of thumping music and stirring voice-overs, each clang of the weights a reaffirmation of his dedication."

Bryant goes on to say that Griffin "has allowed himself to be manipulated, rendered inauthentic by marketing."

To most observers, it appeared for most of training camp that Griffin alone was behind his insistence of starting Week 1 -- all evidence has shown that he could and should have postponed his return from knee surgery. He all but backed coach Mike Shanahan into a corner and may have gone so far as to push Dr. James Andrews' buttons, as well.

But the article takes as many shots at Griffin's persona off the field as it does on it. Whether he asked for it or not, he was presented as a "racial bridge" in Washington, "even though he had yet to say or do anything of great social significance (and still hasn't.)"

Bryant, for his part, does not excuse ESPN the Magazine from culpability. But he certainly uses the platform to cast Griffin in the type of light that to this point has never shone on him.

Anyone will tell you that the only fix for this kind of criticism is winning. The Redskins did that for the first time last week. No team in the NFC East is exactly tearing it up, and as time passes and Griffin gets healthier and more comfortable, the Redskins could make a statement in the division.

Their playoff chances are dire, at best. But while all his defiance and near bullying; all his borderline arrogance and hyper-competitiveness were on full display before the season, Griffin can still lead Washington to a division title.